Beats

Apple debuts new Beats Solo Buds with 18-hour battery life for $79

Chance Miller | Apr 30 2024 - 6:59 am PT

Alongside the launch of Beats Solo 4 today, Apple has also announced new Beats Solo Buds earbuds. The new Beats Solo Buds pack a truly wireless design with an incredibly impressive 18 hours of battery life and $79.99 price.

These represent the most affordable truly wireless earbuds that Apple or Beats has released to date.

Beats Solo Buds

I haven’t had a chance to test the new Beats Solo Buds yet, but on paper they sound incredibly compelling. While they miss out on features like Active Noise Cancellation, auto play/pause, and Transparency mode, they offer an impressive set of other features.

With an in-ear design, the Beats Solo Buds come with four ear tip sizes (XS, S, M, and L) and offer “passive noise isolation.” They feature a custom Beats chip inside that enables one-touch pairing across both iOS and Android. There’s also integration with Apple’s Find My network as well as Google’s Find My Device network.

Each Beats Solo Bud earbud features a ‘b’ button that you can use to control playback, answer calls, and activate Siri. Like with other Beats headphones and AirPods, the function of the ‘b’ can be customized in the Settings app.

In a press release announcing Beats Solo Buds:

Each earbud features dual-layer transducers designed to minimize micro-distortions across the frequency curve, ensuring high-fidelity sound with uncompromising clarity and detail.

Delivering exceptional call quality, each earbud is equipped with a custom-designed microphone powered by an advanced noise-learning algorithm. Enjoy extended range with fewer dropouts thanks to industry-leading Class 1 Bluetooth.

Battery life

But the most impressive Beats Solo Buds feature by far is battery life. Beats says we can expect up to 18 hours of battery life from the buds themselves. Yes, that’s 18 hours of battery life from Beats Studio Buds themselves – not including a charging case of any sort.

In fact, the case included with Beats Solo Buds doesn’t feature an integrated battery. Instead, when you want to charge Solo Buds, you place them in the case, then connect the case to a USB-C cable.

Solo Buds feature Beats’ longest earbud battery life ever with up to 18 hours of playback. When it’s time to recharge, seat your earbuds in the case while connected to a USB-C cable. For extra power on the go, they can charge directly from your phone, tablet or laptop.

Beats Solo Buds also support Fast Fuel, which can get you 1-hour of playback with a 5-minute charge.

Like I said, I haven’t had a chance to test Beats Solo Buds yet, so I can’t vouch for the 18-hour battery life claim. If that holds true, though, it’s an incredible feat.

Pricing and availability

Beats Solo Buds will be available in the United States in June for $79.99. You can pick from four different colors, Matte Black, Storm Gray, Arctic Purple, and Transparent Red.

Stay tuned for a full review of Beats Solo Buds when they officially launch. In the meantime, what do you think? Let us know down in the comments.

The full Beats earbuds lineup

Beats is also discontinuing the Beats Studio Buds with the launch of the Beats Solo Buds. Here’s the full breakdown of the Beats earbuds product lineup: